Sarah’s face turned pale. “Stop it, Mr. Smith. As long as he still sends home money, I don’t care what game he plays out there. Ain’t this how life is? I stay at home and take care of his old ma and our kid; he goes outside, sweating his blood and tears making money. I understand if he wants to have fun sometimes, it’s fine. But now, he’s dead. We don’t mind any amount of money you give, so if there’s nothing more to say, then excuse me.”Alejandro dropped the affected cordiality in his voice. “I’m sure you already know: if I ever find his a**, I’ll make him as dead as he’s supposed to be. He’s already dead in the eyes of the law, right? So what’s wrong with killing a dead man, hmm? Not even the cops think he’s alive. Now, since I know he’s alive, I won’t stop until I find him, whether it’s with your help or not. Don’t worry though, after I’m done with your dear husband, I’ll make sure I send his severed head to you just to let you know how he’s holding up. After all, you people have
All Alejandro needed was for one of them to talk.He signaled his man to release the woman from his clutch, but Sarah remained kneeling on the floor, too petrified to stand. “I know Jeffery must have done something sinful—something against the Lord—and I don’t wanna protect him, but he’s my husband and my son’s father. I have no choice!”Alejandro tossed his cigarette butt out to the yard. With a faint frizzle, its last ember died, drowning in damp soil. “I get you, Mrs. Orange, which is why I need you to call Jeffrey right now and tell him to come home. I don’t care what excuse you make. I just want him here. I’ll wait, but if he doesn’t show up tonight, your son won’t show up tomorrow.”“W-what happens then?” Sarah asked, her voice trembling. “What’ll you do to him—kill him?”“Don’t you call!” The old woman cracked out a shrill.The bodyguard reacted by slapping her, which Alejandro tacitly approved by not stopping him. “Oh, no. I still need a witness, after all. If he does as h
The woman’s gaze went blank for one second. “I don’t know. I’ll probably take my son and hightail out of here, as far as we can go. The Oranges are a difficult bunch. It’ll be my fault that Jeffery’s going to prison, and the old bat won’t let me get away with it. I’m also scared that Jeffery would take revenge on me after his release. So, I have to get as far away as I can.”Alejandro agreed with her train of thought. “That’s right. That’s exactly what you should do. Instead of serving an ungrateful family, why not live a carefree life? I don’t see any sign of happiness on you. Life is hard enough. Why add difficulties? It’s best to live out your life comfortably, regardless of whether you have money or not.”The woman packed her and her son’s luggages in her free time. It looked like she had decided to leave immediately once Jeffrey was taken into custody.The old woman sat tied to the chair with her mouth gagged, weeping to the skies, as if she were trying to commit suicide with h
Alejandro was suspicious. “Seaton spoke to you, personally? He let you know who he was? Is he that careless?”Jeffrey spilled the beans. “I’ve been living in the big city for a long time. Of course, I’ve seen those famous business people on the news, even if I don’t meet them in person. Seaton’s men took me to a mansion. I’ve never seen such a nice house in my life. Seaton talked to me with his back facing me, but I could tell that he was foreign. I even saw his picture on the wall, a large frame just hanging on the wall. It was Seaton. He was so generous. I’d never earned that much money in my life, so I was brainwashed by the money he offered. That’s why I agreed. Please let me go, just this once.”Alejandro now understood. He asked his bodyguards to release Jeffrey. “If you want to live, Jeffrey Orange, you will testify as our witness like a good boy, tell the judge everything you know.”Jeffrey was still a clever man. “But… Even if we report him, he won’t get a death sentence. H
Mark closed his eyes to rest in the plane during their flight back to the country. Alejandro was chattering incessantly next to him. “Could you give me some of the shares from Seaton’s company? Tremont Enterprises has just overcome a critical juncture, and the money you have will be more than enough. I pretty much shared the burden with you, and it’s not like it's our first partnership.”“30%. Pay up,” Mark agreed swiftly.Alejandro could tell that he was in a good mood, so he decided to take advantage. “Since you trust me now, can we convert our transportation agreement to an exclusive contract?”Mark shot him a sidelong glance. “Why are you fixating on that transportation agreement? It’s not like you rely on it to put food on the table. Whacko.”Alejandro refused to give up. “No one would refuse money. Just say yes or no.”“I’ll consider it. Continue annoying me and we’ll have nothing to discuss,” Mark snapped, annoyed with him.Alejandro tactfully stopped talking. At some poin
By the time he arrived back at the Tremont Estate, it was already growing dark. Arianne knew that Mark would be coming home today, so she asked Mary to prepare a sumptuous dinner beforehand.“Are you okay with selling off Wynn Mansion?” Mark suddenly asked during dinner.“I had no choice, we were short on cash back then,” Arianne replied casually. “Besides, you put a lot of money into the renovations. It’s fine. No one was going to live in it anyway, and we would’ve had to spend money on its maintenance.”Mark knew that deep down, she felt differently. She must’ve wanted to keep Wynn Mansion, but it wouldn’t be easy to get it back, now that it was sold.“You don’t have to get Wynn Mansion back,” she said seriously, as if she had seen right through him. “There’s no need. It’s done. The Wynns have separated, some are already dead. Why should we keep that old mansion? It was supposed to be a keepsake, but it’s come into good use, so it’s not so bad. The new owners will certainly tak
“By the way, sir, I need to take a few days off…” Brian meekly spoke up from the driver’s seat.“Problems with the family?” Mark asked.“Getting engaged,” Brian chuckled shyly. “I’m going home to officially ask my girlfriend’s parents for permission. It’s kind of our family tradition. We have to be officially engaged before getting married.”Arianne’s interest was piqued. “That’s wonderful news! You’re finally making it official. Haven’t you been living with your girlfriend for a while? Why’d you have to go through the procedure of an engagement? Why not just get married?”Brian sighed. “This was a request from my girlfriend’s family. They’re a little old-fashioned so I have no choice. We have to foot a high price for the dowry too—once for the engagement, and another for the wedding. I feel as if all my previous hard work has gone to waste whenever I think of having to empty my savings for this wedding. Actually, the dowry is fine, it’s the bride’s family’s request anyway. But the
In truth, Brian had already returned. He just did not resume his duties immediately. Brian arrived at Tremont Estate within half an hour.When he entered the house, his forehead was covered in sweat. He asked the girl, “What are you doing here?”The girl snorted. “I knew I would be able to find you here. Weren’t you avoiding me by hiding yourself away from me? You could’ve not come here if you had the balls! I’ll ask you again, are we still getting married or not?”Brian looked at the girl for a moment with a dark face and said, “No.”Startled, the girl immediately went up to Brian and began to hit him. Brian endured her behaviour for a moment before grabbing both her hands. “I’m sorry, I won’t be able to marry you. We could’ve gotten back together had you not come here and caused a scene. Now, it’s no longer necessary, and I will not be able to fulfill your requirements. I’d gladly spend everything I have for you, but I would most definitely not land myself in debt for you because